The Mod 4 package boasts that it “Brings the unique look and perfect handling of classing rangefinder cameras to the unmatched iPhone 4.” And I sorta almost get that. With the Mod 4 case on, your iPhone looks like an ordinary camera from the back.

It’s clever. But it’s also confusing, because the back of the camera (the part with the viewfinder) is the part you hold towards you – and this is the back of the iPhone. I found that even after living with the Mod 4 for two weeks, I had to turn my phone around every single time I pulled it out to use.

This “slim shape” winds up making the iPhone 4 really bulky. You can see in the photo above just how large the case is, and how thick it makes your iPhone.

Looking at this photo, it seems as though the case adds twice the thickness to the iPhone 4.

The Mod 4 case is also meant to give you a better grip. This was something I loved about the original Module case. There were nice ridges on all sides so that you could hold your iPhone in one hand and brace your fingers to prevent slipping. Imagine holding a camera with its bump on the right – this is exactly what you get with the Mod 4 case. It screams to be held horizontally with two hands. While I generally hold my iPhone horizontally to take photos, I want to be able to do it with one hand. And, of course, I want to hold it with the lens facing away from me so that I can see the view screen.

The surface of the case is nice, though. It has a great pebbly texture that prevents slipping.

Dacha Works, you do wonderful, artistic, and unique designs. But I think you missed the boat on this one.

So the nice people at DryCase sent me the small model to play with. When you play, you should play with children, so I enlisted the help of my nephew. Of course, it didn’t hurt that he has a Kin, and I was far more willing to throw the Kin in a tub of water than my iPhone.

They DryCase is as cool as it seemed from a distance, and I’m really looking forward to taking it to the beach this summer. I found that gadgets with movable parts don’t work as well in the DryCase, as it’s difficult to move something when it’s vacuum sealed. You’ll see at the end of the video, I eventually had to take the Flip cam out of the DryCase in order to end the recording.

Otherwise, it works surprisingly well. You can use your device easily inside the DryCase. It’s made for capacitive screens. It does take some practice turning the wheels to lock the case closed, but I proved that a child could do it – even with interference from his aunt.

I hope you’ll enjoy my little video demo. Remember, you can buy your own DryCase from the link above for $39.99 for the small gadget size, or the larger size from one of their partner resellers for $59.99.

I like taking a book and sitting in the shallow end of the pool, or at the water’s edge at the beach. But you have to be careful not to get the pages wet. I prefer reading on my iPhone, but I would never take my iPhone into the pool – without a DryCASE.

I was instantly drawn to the DryCASE booth, because their display was a working aquarium (fish included!) with an iPhone hanging inside…under water. I had to go check it out. I had already learned about Clever Wraps, but this seemed to be something well beyond rainproofing your gadget. You still have full access to your touch screen, so with the DryCASE, the possibilities are endless. Imagine taking your Galaxy S with you when you go snorkeling! Facetime from the hot tub. Or just listen to your music while swimming laps, because DryCASE offers a 3-way headphone jack so that you can use your earbuds even through the case. (They also offer DryBUDS, their own earbuds which are waterproof to up to 12 feet.)

Each DryCASE also comes with a neoprene armband, so you are set to engage in your favorite water sports.

Enjoy the video demo from CTIA:

The phone version comes 5 to a pack for $9.99, while the tablet and e-reader versions come 3 to a pack for $14.99.

No matter what you’ve got, if you want to keep it dry or clean, seal it in a CleverWrap.

Tonight’s guest, Alli’s Mom – former broadcast journalist, Sheila Small (not on Twitter).

How does the non technically minded person move from a Palm to an Evo.
(Dad thinks the Evo screen is too sensitive.)

Likes and dislikes
Used to like documents and memos on Palm
Like: web browsing, calendars and Google sync, large screen – awesome!, camera
Dislike: virtual keyboard, no quick/easy way to enter notes, predictive text, battery

Customization

Social media integration – synergy

Want your app reviewed on JAGS? Send a promo code to edward@justanothergeeksite.com.

Give-away one license for 1Password for Mac or PC. DM Jerry on Twitter with the name of our first guest on Convertcast?

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http://www.mediafly.com/Podcasts/Feeds/ConvertCast

Two hosts, two iPhone 4′s, two stories

FedEx vs the Apple store experience

Thoughts about the iPhone 4 – Putting together the Hardware and Software

Face Time

The “you’re holding it wrong” phenomenon

Bumper

Front facing camera – is it the best thing ever?

iMovie

Holy battery, Batman!

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Call the Just Another Geek Site Google Voice number, and leave us a message! (304) 884-JAGS (5247)

Download the episode directly here. Subscribe via iTunes. Add our RSS podcast feed.

iPhone and Blackberry

AT&T 850 spectrum

Jerry mentions that he jailbroke yesterday

Mickey compares smartphone operating systems

Symbian quirks and software

Keyboard? We don’ need no steenkin’ keyboard!

Jerry casually brings up jailbreak again (Quelle surprise!)

Backgrounder

Slingbox

What’s that? Did Jerry just mention jailbreak again?

Ring Central vs. Google Voice vs. Phone Fusion

The perfect device:

1. QWERTY from a 8900 BB Curve

2. Camera from M-95

3. Size and weight of the Curve

A. Ease of use from iPhone

B. Stability of BB

C. Customizability of Windows Mobile

Most important is The Network

TCPJ preview: compare the networks!

Visit Mickey Papillon at The Cellphone Junkie, or follow him on Twitter.

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Download the episode directly here. Subscribe via iTunes.

Take this panoramic shot of the Great Wall of China, for example. It’s absolutely gorgeous. If you look at his collection, you tend to wonder how he orchestrated entire towns to stop moving so that he could take his shots.

I made my first (and last) attempt at a panoramic with my old Canon. I’d have it still if someone hadn’t decided to burglarize my house and take it for himself. The camera made it fairly simple, with a nifty panoramic mode so that all you had to do was move slightly and line up your view with the right most bit of the previous shot.

This is what I came up with:

We won’t even mention the half a guy standing off to the left or the column on the building to the right that looks like it’s trying to run and hide from my camera. Perhaps it was the wrong shot for my first attempt, but most of those people were standing stock still just staring at the Eiffel Tower. And I’m relatively certain the buildings were not actually moving.

I’ve been playing more and more with my iPhone as a camera, since as a totally hobbyist photographer, I think it does a nice job. The added lenses I got recently have given me some extra flexibility, but I like to be able to play more with it. 

After watching the really cool youtube video, I purchased Mosaica for my iPhone. My father was not impressed. After the novelty wore off, neither was I. You can see for yourself here. I’d include it on the page with the others, but it doesn’t just give you a photograph, so that’s a big loss.

Today I discovered Pano, another iPhone app. It does panoramics that are much closer to what you get from "real cameras." I think with a little practice, I might gain some proficiency with this. Only a few minutes in the back yard gave me a panoramic that (I think) is much better than the one I took in Paris – even if the subject is far less exciting.

Dad remains unimpressed, and his response to my second attempt using Pano was to send me his latest actual panoramic photograph. (Sarcasm all mine, not his.)

I’m at a disadvantage here, but I’m not aiming to compete. I just think it’s really cool the way I can do panoramics without much effort on my iPhone. And while they may not be anywhere near the professional quality my father does, they’re quite above average for what amounts to a camera phone.

You can purchase Mosaica in the iTunes store for $0.99. Pano is also available in the iTunes store, at the slightly  higher price of $2.99.

So there I was at the airport in Hartford CT with an hour to kill, so I stopped at one of the airport stores and looked through a couple of magazines. That’s when I saw this ad for USB fever. So I thought…$19.99 is worth trying. I received it much sooner than expected – about 10 days, if I recall correctly.

The lens I chose is actually two lenses in one. With the two pieces screwed together, it is a wide angle lens. With the wide angle top removed, it leaves you with a powerful macro lens. The package includes two magnetic rings with a self-stick backing. I stuck one onto the back of my RichardSolo Custom case. The back of the lens itself is magnetic and holds tightly to the ring. A tiny lens cover is included, and it’s all attached to a little lanyard. I just throw mine in the pocket of my purse where I keep my other electronics accessories, so that it’s always available when I need it.

The wide angle lens really increases your view. As you can see in these photos, the first image was taken on the iPhone 3G. The second was taken from the same position, but with the wide angle lens attached. The difference is remarkable.

An equally remarkable difference is seen when using the macro lens.

This next set of photos was taken with the iPhone 3GS. It makes an even bigger difference using the 3GS because of its auto focus function. While you can see the entire bar code without the macro lens, you can zoom right in. For document purposes, I will no longer need to carry a magnifying glass, that’s just how good this is.

For another comparison, I took shots of my favorite bracelet. Without the macro lens, you get 3 links in the frame without much definition. Any closer and it becomes a blur. With the macro lens, you get much further in, leaving room for only one link in the frame and much more detail.

The slight bur in the photos using the macro lens I attribute to the fact that you must hold your iPhone so much closer to the subject. This means that the next quest will be some kind of flexible tripod! If you don’t mind carrying this small accessory, it’s a great solution to more flexible iPhone photography.